The Hanumandhoka Durbar Area Conservation Committee has established a trust for reconstruction and restoration of the historic and cultural monuments that suffered partial, extensive and full damages during the massive earthquake which struck on April 25.

7.8 M earthquake strikes Nepal on 25 April 2015 on 1156 am. More than 6 thousand killed, according to latest report.
According to Nepal Police, 43 foreigners killed, 45 injured and 42 are missing. Here is the list of foreigner casualties.

We had just finished the Saturday show of `Resham Filili’. I was heading on a scooter towards the Pahilopost Office from the Jaya Nepal theatre. My wife was with me. Just before we reached the office, however, we were rocked by the earthquake. At first, I was calm. Surely, it wouldn’t last long. I didn’t even turn off the scooter’s engine; nor did I put it on a stand. I was supporting it on my legs as my wife looked on. Five seconds passed, and then more; the shaking continued….

The Yak and Yeti hotel, outside of the office, is banked by a number of shops, mostly targeted towards the tourists. One of the shopkeepers urged me to get off the scooter and come close to him. My wife finally shut off the engine as the shaking continued. We left the scooter and walked towards the shop. We sat down, as we could not even stand straight. The expertly decorated dummies on the shop started falling off. The tremors continued still…

Field Report by Umesh Shrestha and Rishikesh Dahal
Ram and Maiya Baasi are searching clothes for their daughter. Their 16-year old daughter is in a hospital. They are trying to find some clothes in the debris of the fallen house near Dattatreya Temple in Bhaktapur, an ancient city east of Kathmandu. The district hospital has referred their daughter to another hospital, but the couple don’t have money for that. ‘Our house is damaged, daughter is injured, please help us’- Maiya pleaded to us when we went there for reporting.

In this age of social media, we can not even imagine life without internet. Online news portals are mushrooming. News is everywhere on net. Internet is like basic necessity for us nowadays. But those were the days of Rajpal era that internet is such a precious and costly thing. I think most of people unaware of this fact that even before the white house email was created ([email protected] was created in 1993), and even before launch of world’s first browser, we had our own online magazine called The Nepal Digest (TND). With “hours and hours of editing” a part-time Lecturer and full-time computer scientist engineer at Northern Illinois University Rajpal published TND’s first issue in April 1992. I took this interview as part of my M.A. thesis on the topic of Nepal’s online media and its interactivity. Well, he was very busy person. It took more than 6 month to complete this interview. But I am happy that finally I was able to document the history with this interview. Following is unedited version of interview.

It was a few days after Tribhuvan International Airport was named the third worst airport in the world when I learnt of my friend’s mistreatment at Bharatpur Regional Airport. Whether it is regional or international, it seems airports all over Nepal are the same — mismanaged and filled with corrupt staff.

My friend, Paul Miller, an American was boarding a Yeti Airlines flight to Kathmandu. At the security check prior to boarding, he was frisked by the personnel on duty. The security officer then opened Paul’s hand luggage and came across a bag of chocolates and pens. My friend who suffers from diabetes always has sweets, chocolates with him for times when his sugar level gets low.

An elderly kills himself tired of his chronic illness, a mother commits suicide after killing her two babies due to famine, and a family waits for their son’s coffin from Arab—what is common here? “Death” you may see, but it is the existing situation of our country that has brought incessant tragedies as these among several.

In a short duration of time, the country has been through a precarious political turmoil affecting various strata of functioning bodies, and with the extension of political transition, the future of the country seems ambivalent and unhinged. Unquestionably a country’s progress depends profoundly on a delicate relationship between political situation and economy. Experts believe, to depend heavily on foreign- remittance and custom-tax is no wise approach to build a nation strong, paradoxically, our economy is chiefly based on these two, and aids allocated by international organizations.

During his Nepal visit two years ago, FIFA President Sepp Blatter had said, “Nepal plays good, but there is lack of Messi.” Blatter made the comment after watching the inaugural match of AFC Cup in a beautifully decorated Dasharath Stadium in the capital city. Blatter might have missed Messi, but Nepal’s poorest district Mugu hasn’t. But why did the district, which does not have even a single stadium, regard a local woman footballer as Messi? At one side is the most expensive footballer in the world – Lionel Messi, and the other is Mugu which lies at the bottom of Nepali districts in terms of human development index. So why did the entire district showed huge respect on the young footballer and heap praises on her? Why did they chant slogans like ‘Sunakali is like Messi’? How did football instill confidence on people of Mugu that they also can more forward? At a time when World Cup 2014 being staged in Brazil has gripped the country and Nepalis cheering for their best teams donning their respective jerseys, these photos might clarify the relation between the Messi of the remote Mugu and the district’s relationship with football.

FIFA World Cup 2014 has begun in Brazil. The biggest sporting event in the world has united people across the globe. Fans of Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany and England, among others, are hoisting the flags of their respective countries in every nook and cranny of the country. Youths are wearing jerseys of their favorite teams. People have started discussing the event even during teatime. The World Cup fever has gripped the people because of the popularity of football as a sport. This sport gives equal excitement in any countries in the world and any geographical situation. If you don’t believe, just see the following pictures. There is neither goalpost, nor net. Also the ground is not geographically suitable for football. If one strucks the ball hard, the ball rolls down the cliff. Despite this, football match is hosted in this ground in Humla and the match attracts many enthusiastic fans. There might not be Mexican waves seen in big stadia, but fans here are getting equal enjoyment.